- This topic has 24 replies, 12 voices, and was last updated 11 years ago by neilc1881.
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Getting digital artwork done
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neilc1881Free Member
Evening all, this is one for the digital artists out there. My wife makes ‘Cowboy Pickles’ for farmer’s markets and deli’s etc, we get the labels done in a local print shop but have a lot of trouble with condensation messing them up so are looking to get them done with a firm based in the US near her grandparents, they make fancy vinyl labels which are reusable. The trouble is the artwork she designed for the original label needs to be turned digital and I have no idea how, the label printers have their own preferred programs etc, is there anyone out there who could help? If so get in touch via
neil.d.cox@googlemail.com
The requirements can be seen at https://secure.interstatelabel.com/Custom-Art-Specifications.aspx#Digital
The label would need to be 8-7/8″ x 3-1/4″.Thanks,
NeilstavromullerFree MemberThe guy who does my vinyl label printing accepts pdf. files, so if you can scan the image then convert to pdf., it should be happy days as pdf. can be scaled to any size.
zilog6128Full MemberI take it the original artwork is hand drawn? As above, either scan or take a digital photo then save in one of the formats the printer accepts. Make sure you size it correctly to their specs though, they won’t just want an A4 size scan for example. Easiest way might be to download a free trial of Photoshop (elements) then you can size it and save as a PSD.
flipiddyFree MemberYou should get the artwork recreated as a vector graphic for the best print result unless it’s a detailed illustration in which case a 2000+dpi scan is your best bet.
Scanning existing labels probably won’t give you great results, but it depends what you are trying to achieve.
Have you got a photo of the label artwork you can email or post on here so we can get an idea of what it is?
Cheers.
neilc1881Free MemberThanks all, I will get a scan of a label.at the moment we are all out of printed labels so could only take a photo of a labelled jar,, may give you some idea though. Handy to know you can download a free version of Photoshop, though I guess it may be limited in what you can do with it.
IMAG0751 by neil.d.cox, on Flickr
IMAG0749 by neil.d.cox, on FlickralfabusFree MemberNeil… we’ve got reasonable scanners at work and I’ve got photoshop, so can do the reformatting stuff for you if you give me a printed label when we’re over at yours next.
Can’t do a full on vectored version though, you’d need someone with a lot of time on their hands and a copy of illustrator 🙂
Dave
neilc1881Free MemberYou’re alive then Dave! Good work on the pebbledash. I will get a label on standby for you then, only trouble is the new label company have a slightly larger label, but I’d have thought it could be blown up a little..
Neilzilog6128Full MemberYou’ll get a much better result if you scan the original artwork rather than a printed label. FYI the free version of Photoshop is fully-featured but will stop working after 30 days.
alfabusFree MemberFree bars get messy very quickly.
Blowing it up a bit won’t be a problem; I’m supposed to be planning Christmas stuff, so I’ll talk to you about it in the new year.
Now… how to barbecue a 14lb turkey…
Dave
neilc1881Free MemberThanks Zilog, that is well worth knowing, I may download it to have a play before getting bored/fed up with the laptop crashing constantly and handing it over to Dave. I will hunt down the original artwork, though knowing the wife’s ‘filing system’ and hatred for hoarding that could be an impossible task!
Dave, my advice would be don’t. Have mutton instead, I’ve a 3 legged ewe who is looking very sorry for herself in this weather, she won’t miss another few legs…
CountZeroFull MemberIf you can find the original a/w, there are a number of scanning apps for smartphones that will save as .pdf files, CamScanner and GeniusScan being two. Not perfect, but with the quality of camera on modern phones, and some good lighting, a presentable result should be possible.
TheDTsFree MemberIf you are in the UK there are loads of companies that could get these made for you, and do the artwork for that matter. (Me included)
Most decent graphics packages will convert a bitmap (Scan) to a vector. With a bit of tweaking with the settings you will get acceptable results for a label of that size.
Not sure about the re-usable aspect of your labels though, removable yes re-usable though I can’t find on the website.johndohFree MemberNo idea why anyone is suggesting creating a vector version – with the best will in the world it won’t look like the original and a proper hi-res scan will be perfectly acceptable for print – even a high end litho press only prints at around 200dpi and (paper dependant) often around 170dpi so a 100% (ie same size) scan at 400 dpi will give perfect results – remember, it isn’t just the resolution that matters but the quality of the scan.
Repro houses used to be everywhere but almost non-existent now but I am sure a quick Google will find you one with a proper high-end drum scanner to do a proper job.
flipiddyFree Membereven a high end litho press only prints at around 200dpi and (paper dependant) often around 170dpi so a 100% (ie same size) scan at 400 dpi will give perfect results – remember, it isn’t just the resolution that matters but the quality of the scan.
In true STW style this seems either badly written or misinformed – sorry, Johndoh 😉
You will need to scan the illustration in at up to 2000dpi, 1200dpi would suffice. Then clean up in Photoshop and supply at 600dpi as a tif or pdf. Pdf isn’t really necessary here as it’s a raster scan and not a vector graphic.
Even the printer Neil is using requests a minimum of 600dpi for raster format supply.
CHBFull MemberFor modest volumes you would be better off getting them printed digitally.
Flexo and. litho are only suited to longer print runs and have set up costs that are comparatively high for a full colour job like yours.
My day job is a packaging buyer.I can heartily recommend a company called Source Labels in the UK. I use them for small run (few thousand) label work. Would normally suppy artwork as high quality pdf or Illustrator file.
CHBFull MemberAlso consider splitting the label into two smaller, self adhesive labels.
That way you could have a full colour pretty label on the front and a plainer (maybe screen printed or letterpress?) label with the statutory weights and regs info on the rear.
This would be cheaper than one HUGE. full colour label, and could look just as good or better.grumFree MemberShe could just design a new logo digitally, or get someone else to – not really into that one, sorry!
zilog6128Full MemberI actually quite like the design – they’re supposed to be home made after all.
Everyone talking about paper or litho etc clearly hasn’t read the OP – it needs to be waterproof which means (for a low volume solution) it needs to be digitally printed onto vinyl using solvent based inks. Anyone talking about massive res with these machines clearly hasn’t used them – I doubt you’ll notice the difference between 200 and 300 DPI and you definitely wouldn’t notice any more than that. There’s really no need to make this complicated!
TheDTsFree MemberSend me the scanned image, let me know how many you need (10 to 1000’s) and I can give you a price.
avonmouthsigns dot comjohndohFree Membereven a high end litho press only prints at around 200dpi and (paper dependant) often around 170dpi so a 100% (ie same size) scan at 400 dpi will give perfect results – remember, it isn’t just the resolution that matters but the quality of the scan.
In true STW style this seems either badly written or misinformed – sorry, Johndoh
You will need to scan the illustration in at up to 2000dpi, 1200dpi would suffice. Then clean up in Photoshop and supply at 600dpi as a tif or pdf. Pdf isn’t really necessary here as it’s a raster scan and not a vector graphic.
Even the printer Neil is using requests a minimum of 600dpi for raster format supply.
POSTED 9 HOURS AGO # REPORT-POSTNot at all – I know exactly what I am talking about.
neilc1881Free MemberTheDTs, I guess they are not officially ‘reuseable’ but the father in law has them on his Apple juice bottles, they cope with cleaning and pasteurising without any issues, saves a fair bit of time and effort on paper labels that peel off and have the aforementioned condensation problems. I would be interested in what you’d be able to offer for us, I will get in touch. My parents are in Bristol and we frequently travel over to get jars from the Bristol Bottle Company (South) too.
Well there is plenty of advice on here, I know little of printing but you lot seem to! Thanks again all.
neilc1881Free MemberWell, that is what trading standards wanted to know… It is largely dependent on the size of the cowboy.
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